Dipayal, January 1

Until a year ago, locals of Ranagaun, Doti used to go the the nearby town if they had to get a new cloth stitched.

They used to purchase household items such as wicker baskets and brooms from neighbouring villages. But things have now changed for the better with a local school training schoolchildren to make household items.

Saraswati School has been providing stitching and weaving training to schoolchildren. Students from Grade eight to twelve are being given such training as part of special educational project. Various items prepared by students in the school are also sold in the local market.

“We had not expected that students would make such beautiful and useful items, it’s amazing,” said Ram Chandra Rana, a local. Also, as part of personality development project, students are provided dance, journalism and anchoring training in the school.

“The items made by students are really useful, but we do not have a market for them in the locality,” said head teacher of the school Min Rana. He also assured that their academic activities were not affected by the training.

“It is not necessary for students to go to technical schools. If they are eager enough to learn, they can acquire such skills in the schools they study. In fact, each school can provide technical education to their students,” said Rana.

Saraswoti School is the first school in the district to provide technical education to its students.